Greek Islands may go on sale

Archimedes: August 2012

Some Greek Islands could be put up for sale to help Greece pay of its mounting national debt. Greek Premier Antonis Samaras told newspaper reporters he would consider selling off some of the smaller uninhabited Greek islands at the right price. He added that he would be willing to consider offers to sell off islands provided it did not create any problems with national security.

The premier said it was not so much selling off Greek islands so much as 'transforming unused land into revenue-generating capital, at the right price'.

The Greek government has so far rejected calls for the country to sell off some islands to help replay the multi-billion euro loans from the EC.

Visit the site Private Islands Online to see what you can afford. The site claims Greek islands are the ultimate status symbol but, in reality, Greek islands are relatively affordable.

They say some Greek Islands cost as little as $2 million, which is less than a ski chalet in Klosters or a small flat in central London.

There are several private Greek Islands for sale on the site. The 280 acre Kardiotissa Island, in the Aegean Sea, is on the market for a mere €6.5 million.

Or you could pick up a 50 acre plot on the 300 acre St Thomas island in the Saronic Gulf, near Athens, for just €12 million.

Of course, several Greek islands are already privately owned: the most famous being Skorpios, in the Ionian Sea off Lefkas, which once belonged to the Onassis family and recently bought by Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani for a reported $190m.

But rising property taxes might put a damper on the sell-off plan and several former Greek Island owners have already sold their properties at cut-rate prices, in an bid to avoid the Greek government's latest tax hikes.

One of these, Oxia, lying off the coast of Ithaca, was put on the market at €6.9 million but was eventually sold to the Emir of Qatar for just over €5 million last April.